WEST BLOOMFIELD >> Able to dictate the pace of play to its liking and utilize an effective zone defense, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s upended Waterford Mott in a Class A district final on Friday, 51-38.
PHOTO GALLERY FROM MOTT VS. ST. MARY’S
The game was won and lost in the second quarter, as St. Mary’s outscored Mott by 17 points in the stanza, frustrating the Corsairs’ offense by denying dribble penetration and limiting second-chance opportunities.
Having fallen behind 7-0 in the opening minutes, the Eaglets countered with a sustained 28-5 scoring run that carried through to halftime. Mott was held without a field goal for 11 minutes, while St. Mary’s took advantage at the other end to expand its lead to double digits.
“We just had a total meltdown in that second quarter,” Corsairs coach David McGlown said. “That just set us so far back it was hard to get back in the game … We should have made more shots. We had a lot of open looks, but just didn’t make them.”
St. Mary’s took care of the ball, limiting the turnovers that Mott thrived and counted upon for much of the season to accelerate the tempo with fast-break layups and transition 3-pointers.
“We mixed it up and played a lot of zone defense tonight,” St. Mary’s coach Todd Covert said. “They are as athletic of a team as we’ve played all year. It was all about defense and controlling the tempo.”
In the fourth quarter, the Corsairs drew as close as eight points, trailing 45-37 with 2:30 remaining. But St. Mary’s defended well down the stretch, with senior Nick Goerss recording a key block on a 3-point attempt and corralling the ensuing rebound with a minute left before free throws widened the gap further.
“Mott started fast, but we settled down and used a 2-3 zone (defense) because we knew they wanted to play fast, so we’d have a guy back to stop the dribble penetration,” St. Mary’s senior Caden Prieskorn said. “That was the key tonight.”
The Eaglets (14-7) were propelled offensively by sophomore guard Lorne Bowman’s 23-point effort, with Prieskorn contributing 11 points and displaying sure hands to pull down key rebound after key rebound.
“I can’t say enough about Caden Prieskorn right now,” Covert said. “That kid is the most undervalued high school sports athlete I’ve seen in a long time. He rebounds, he brings the ball up the court at 6-foot-6, he scores in the low post, he can shoot the three. He’s a heck of a competitor. To me, he is the epitome of a great high school athlete.”
The win gave St. Mary’s its first district title in three years and its 43rd overall as a program. The Eaglets advanced to face Rochester Adams on Monday in a regional semifinal.
Mott’s season concluded with an 18-4 record and a Lakes Valley Conference title to its name. Seniors Ashton Franklin and Michael Hardie recorded 12 and 11 points, respectively, Friday.
“These guys, in my first year here, they bought into everything I needed them to do,” McGlown said. “They came every day with a hard-working attitude and I just want to thank (my seniors) because they set a culture for what I’m trying to do here at Waterford Mott. They were the first ones to do it and we came out and won our league. They started us on firm ground.”
